<p>Do you feel like worthless somehow? How do you or did you cope with it? Did you end up liking the other alternative? By that I mean other colleges you attended of course.</p>
<p>I feel like jumping into the trash and laying there for an eternity.</p>
<p>But I see Penn on your location, It seems like you`re alright with the outcome.</p>
<p>It took a few days for it to really sink in. Yale was only one that really upset me, since I’d been gunning for it for over a decade. The others I was disappointed about, but I had been expecting rejection so it wasn’t a huge deal.</p>
<p>Nope. I never expect things to be perfect for me.</p>
<p>I coped with it by reading all the admitted students info from the school I’m planning to attend!</p>
<p>Nope, I was ecstatic (my parents would have forced me to go to Yale or Harvard if I got in). And anyways, I did not get outright rejected at an Ivy (GT Cornell, my first choice). I’m looking to make the best of my time at Boston College, then decide if I want to transfer to Cornell. To the OP, I think if you get caught up by the Ivy name too much, you would be sad by the rejection. Remember that sometimes an Ivy wouldn’t be as right for you as the ones you have been admitted to. Hope that helps. :)</p>
<p>but i think its important to remember that this college thing is NOT the end point of your life - its just a stop on the way. Our S applied to 1 Ivy ED, was deferred and then rejected. It was hard on all of us as both his mother and I had gone. BUT I have NEVER been prouder of him in my life at how he has been evaluating the non-Ivy schools he got into, and there are MANY GREAT SCHOOLS out there. (I know, I’ve been visiting them with him.) No question that not getting into your first choice is difficult (and what was particularly tough for me with my S is that he was WAY more qualified than either his mother or I were to attend the school we did.) The competition to many of the best schools was greater this year than it has ever been in the history of many schools application process. So dust yourself off and go forward with the hand you are dealt. I know it sounds trite but any successful adult will tell you, its NOT the school you went to, its what you do at the school you went to that always really counts. And I particularly have respect for the guy who talked about BC (as we live in Boston.) GREAT SCHOOL and knowing he wouldn’t have been happy at Harvard or Yale would be the kind of thing I’d be looking for if I were a grad school admissions officer, or successful businessman (which I am), and I was evaluating who to hire.</p>
<p>Thanks for your wonderful comment. </p>
<p>vinnyli: It just happened to be as you said, I was so so sooo caught up by the name,prestige and all the so stuff that it seemed like I even forgot why I was seeking a college degree. I was affected by the rejection indeed but I was more affected by my own reaction than by the event itself. I mean, I truly didn`t appreciate how biased I was about getting into an ivy and thinking that it was the only way to make the best of my education. Well I am probably going to Rose-Hulman and like pFNMCp, I am trying to like it even though I didnt visit it, I am in New York.</p>
<p>Why is everyone so caught up in the Ivy name?
You’ll arguably get a better education as an undergrad at a LAC than, say, Cornell.</p>
<p>I’d be more unhappy about getting rejected from Amherst or Williams or Pomona or Bowdoin than getting rejected from Cornell or Penn or Brown (not Dartmouth though).</p>
<p>“Why is everyone so caught up in the Ivy name?”</p>
<p>I think it is the human kind most standard facet to be caught by something he is always either seeing or hearing. I was one of those Ivy blind lovers but now I am more of an objective reasoning when it comes to college education. Duh, I hope I am.</p>
<p>“I’d be more unhappy about getting rejected from Amherst or Williams or Pomona or Bowdoin than getting rejected from Cornell or Penn or Brown (not Dartmouth though)” </p>
<p>Why not Dartmouth?</p>
<p>To OP: Rose-Hulman is a very good and nationally-recognized engineering school, at least to the people that count. It’s not Ivy, but it’s good enough.
To The Government: I would much rather go to Cornell (too bad I didn’t get in) than Amherst or Williams or any LAC’s, for that matter (the reason why I didn’t apply to any, or schools like Darthmouth and Brown). A college education should not only teach you book smarts but more importantly teach you practical/street smarts. A liberal arts education is useless unless you know how to apply it to the real world. This is why more pre-professional universities, like Cornell, often trump LAC’s. Not saying that LAC’s don’t have benefits of their own.</p>
<p>vinnyli: Is it true that Rose-Hulman is good and I am even wondering why how great this school is didn’t show up right away after my acceptance. Well also, Cornell is my dream school for graduate studies. Cornell is wonderful 
you see?? I keep thinking that those schools are exceptional and I cannot remove it from my head. But hey, if the reason why this love that I carry for the ivies like cornell or Princeton is so strong, that might mean that it is not only about the “name” and that I would really fit in it. Anyway never mind.</p>
<p>Dko: Stop with the prestige obsession. The ivies rejected you (and me, and the vals and sals of my school, etc.). If you truly want to go because of their great academics, work hard and apply for grad school. If you want to go for the name, reassess why you want to apply in the first place. You may have applied for superficial reasons and not because it is right for you. You should also assess yourself and who you want to be, because you may have lost yourself by obsessing over these schools.
P.S. Rose-Hulman has a BETTER engineering program than Princeton’s, Penn’s, Yale’s, and Columbia’s, Dartmouth’s, and Brown’s, and Harvard’s, even though it is much less selective. It’s school is probably more comparable to (arguably better than) Cornell’s.</p>
<p>You are right I should stop with this non semantic thinking of prestige.
Vinnyli: Are you going to attend BC by next fall? What are your plan?</p>
<p>@dko</p>
<p>well I got rejected by YALE (from CT so 5 min away), HARVARD (with the Harvard Book Award), DARTMOUTH (after applying early, being deferred, then rejected regular), PENN-WHARTON (where I had always planned on going since I was 7 then fell in love with Dartmouth a week before the ED deadline what a mistake), COLUMBIA (where a kid at my school of significantly less quality got in ED because his dad was an alum and he was a minority), waitlisted at BROWN (where my app was perfect!!!) and CORNELL (was shocked) as well so no Ivy for me. I am also in the class of 2013.</p>
<p>For about a week I felt totally worthless, because I had worked so hard to be #2 in my class, get a 1530/2240 on SATs, be captain of 3 sports, get Eagle Scout, etc, but it made me sick. Legit sick. My immune system was weakened (and still is) to the point where I got a virus they thought was mono. I felt horrible about myself. But as the old expression goes “time heals all wounds.” And its true. I think that after a bit of time to cope you’ll get over it and see that it really was the best thing for you. Where you end up is where you are supposed to end up. I really hated when people said that to me. Like I loathed it, because I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be an Ivy. And I was right, it wasnt. But look at the other schools. Look which one fits. I got into Duke and am probably going there. It wasn’t my first, or second, or third (actually 8th after Ivies+Stanford), but it truly is the right fit. Warm, sports, academics, economics, how could I ever not think Duke? And to be honest I wasn’t going to apply there until December when they sent me an email inviting me to apply. So what I’m saying is that it isn’t the end of the world, no matter how bad you feel or how upset you are. Good luck with your school and trust me, it will be the best school and four years for you.</p>
<p>Haha, not at all. I am absolutely awesome: I go to Amherst. I consider it just as good as Harvard and Princeton. I never cared much for the Ivy League label, and I applied to Harvard and Princeton primarily because they were academically great colleges with superior financial aid programs. The prestige factor would have been a pleasant bonus, and yet I can still proudly tell people in the know that I go to Amherst.</p>
<p>I still feel slighted by my Columbia rejection though. I was nearly certain that I would be admitted, but I should have known better since it had rejected a great number of intellectually passionate guys from my alma mater and it continues to do so every year.</p>
<p>C’est la vie. I consider myself blessed.</p>
<p>Well, I’ll be doing management with a concentration in finance and management at BC, AEM with finance concentration at Cornell if I choose to transfer (I only applied to schools with good finance programs). Since I am pre-law, I’ll be pursuing an extra minor in international relations and taking electives in accounting, math, biology, chemistry, and business law.
Again, this is the problem. People work hard so they could get into an elite college when they SHOULD be pursuing things they enjoy instead. I graduated early and pursued math team to the hilt, even when other people warned me that I would have a harder time getting into prestigious colleges if I do so. But I didn’t care. I took the AP’s that I wanted to take and had more fun this year than I ever had in high school, even though I get tired every day. The Ivies obviously found others more fit for their class. I got into pretty prestigious programs at other schools, but turned them down for BC because it felt right for me and I could transfer to Cornell with my GT if my interest wanes. Plus, it helps that BC gave me good aid. :)</p>
<p>^Congrats, and I agree.
Well, I didn’t expect to get into Harvard since I just wanted to fill out their app for the heck of it. I liked the freedom it allowed. I am just happy enough to have gotten the opportunity to meet one of the head people of Sony Pictures and get a glimpse of the spacious place. :] As much as I said I liked Penn, I never felt attached to it. I liked their prompts, though! =] Everyone always asks me why I didn’t apply to all of the Ivies like my cousin or my friends. I don’t think it’s the end of the world if I get an education at an equally wonderful place. I want to go to places where I’ll earn great opportunities, especially with my major–economics, and feel happy. </p>
<p>I always felt attached to Northwestern, and things worked out in the end, so you know, life moves on. It would have been cool if I did get into the Ivies but that would have probably only heightened my ego even more, and if by luck, I did get into either (oho, that would have been a good surprise!), my parents would have sent me there. And, I would have probably not liked the environment of the school. So, in the end, I feel pretty ecstatic that things ended up like this, since I get to go to Northwestern, my top choice! </p>
<p>I think life has its purposes. Consider it the school’s loss. And perhaps, it’s actually better than you explore your years at your other schools. =]</p>
<p>andy_college09: I loved your post. In fact we are pretty much similar with vinnyli also. I feel like we dedicated ourselves so badly in our high school year that now I feel like it just must go through without stopping. You are going to Duke which is one of the finest school in the country and as you said, I am pretty sure you will make 4 unreal years. Good luck too.</p>
<p>vinnyli: You plan are awesome and BC wouldnt be more good for you. I think you made the right decision by attending that school besides the aid. If you feel like you can enjoy it then go for it. Your GT to Cornell seems to be a great opportunity and I wish to find the best way to exploit it.</p>
<p>kwu: Amherst is as good as Princeton in term of academic and you are right not to rougir when it come to saying that you are attending Amherst. Seulement, I wish I could add your quick faculty to get over your rejections. Mais anyway, I probably end up liking Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology which is a good school too…</p>
<p>I was really naive when I started applying to college. No one in my family has ever left California for school, and neither of my parents had to apply to college (my mom went to community college, my dad…long story but he went to UCLA), so it’s pretty safe to say I knew very little about the Ivies. I just read about schools in this one college book I had and applied to the ones that interested me. I ended up applying to Yale, Columbia, and Penn…but I didn’t know that Penn was an Ivy until halfway through finishing the application, hahaha, I don’t know how I missed that…</p>
<p>I had a terrible interview with Yale, in which she ended by saying that I wouldn’t get in…no surprise there. When my friend (who had almost exactly the same stats as me but with the incredible additions of organizing a fundraiser, doing some UN thing, and modeling in New York) got deferred from Columbia, I knew I was in trouble…no surprise there. But I was a little irritated that I was rejected from Penn simply because I thought it was such a good match for me. </p>
<p>I wasn’t sad or overcome with feelings of worthlessness or anything, but I was pretty annoyed. College admissions is so strange…I almost wish I hadn’t got sucked into at all because now I’m always going to be an “Ivy reject” when the name was never really that important to me. I mean, my number one school ended up being Carleton (most people looked at me blankly when I told them I was considering it). Now I’m going to UC Berkeley because my parents refuse to pay for Carleton or fill out financial aid forms…and I’m more upset about that than being rejected from those three schools.</p>
<p>Whatever…it’s funny, because I think I might know people who opted not to attend the Ivy they got in to than people who actually are going to an Ivy. I’m not sure if it’s as big of a deal on the West Coast.</p>